F. M. Kirby Center

The art deco nature of the Kirby Center reflects an era that was an amalgam of styles - diverse and conflicting influences. Some trace its roots to Paris and the 1925 "Exposition des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes," from which the term "art deco" originates.
 
It was an emotional style in Paris ... exuberant, colorful and playful. When it eventually was adopted by other European countries and later the United States, it was given a more intellectual interpretation based on theories of functionalism and economy, often referred to as "Modernism."
 
Art Deco was unlike its stylistic predecessors because it was clean and pure. The lines, if they curved, were gradual and sweeping; straight lines were straight as a ruler. It used aspects of machine design as inspiration, and accelerated the adoption of new materials like plastic, bakelite and chrome.